Chitrakoot district (Hindi: चित्रकूट जिला) is one of the districts of Uttar Pradesh state of India, and Chitrakoot town is the district headquarters. Chitrakoot district is a part of Chitrakoot Division. The district occupies an area of 3,205 km². The district has a population of 766,225 (2001 Census). As of 2011 it is the second least populous district of Uttar Pradesh (out of 71), after Mahoba.

On 6 May 1997 a new district was carved out from the erstwhile Banda district comprising its Karwi and Mau tehsils. The district was initially named as Chhatrapati Shahuji Nagar district. On 4 September 1998 it was renamed as Chitrakoot district.

In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Chitrakoot one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640). It is one of the 34 districts in Uttar Pradesh currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF). Successive governments have often ignored the district's development and hence has become one of the most remote and cut-off districts in India.

Chitrakuta (IAST: Citrakūṭa, Sanskrit: चित्रकूट) (also spelt Chitrakoot) is a town and a nagar panchayat in Satna district in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is a town of religious, cultural, historical and archaeological importance, situated in the Bundelkhand region. It borders the Chitrakoot district in Uttar Pradesh, whose headquarters Chitrakoot Dham (Karwi) is located nearby. It is known for a number of temples and sites mentioned in Hindu scriptures.

Many people gather here on each Amavasya. Somwati Amavasyas, Deepawali, Sharad-Poornima, Makar Sankranti and Ramanavami are special occasions for such gatherings and celebrations. It attracts crowds throughout the year including above occasions and for Free Eye Hospital Camps. Noted 'Ayurvedic' and 'Yoga' centres like 'Arogyadham' are located in Chitrakoot.

Chitrakoot means the 'Hill of many wonders'. Chitrakoot falls in the northern Vindhya range of mountains spread over the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The Chitrakuta region is included in the District Chitrakuta of Uttar Pradesh and the District Satna of Madhya Pradesh. Chitrakoot district in Uttar Pradesh was created on 4 September 1998.

Mohan Chand Sharma (23 September 1965 − 19 September 2008) was an Indian Police Inspector who served in the Delhi Police, Special Cell and was killed during the Batla House encounter in Delhi with suspected terrorists. Sharma was a much-decorated police officer and had won seven gallantry medals including the President of India's Medal in 2008. He was awarded the Ashoka Chakra on 26 January 2009.

Sharma is native to Chaukhutia Masi region of Almora in Uttar Pradesh now Uttarakhand. Sharma served the Delhi police for 19 years. He joined the Delhi Police as a sub-inspector in 1989 and was instrumental in the killing of 35 alleged Khalistani terrorists and the arrest of another 80 alleged militants, according to an authorised Delhi police statement. The police statement also claimed that he had killed 40 alleged gangsters from outside Delhi and arrested another 129. He died on 19 September 2008 after sustaining injuries during an encounter with suspected terrorists allegedly involved in the 13 September 2008 Delhi bombings.